More frequent fires, invasive fire-fueling vegetation and the potential threat they pose to wildlife and communities along the proposed route of the Northern Corridor were among the chief concerns of conservationists and some area residents during a recent open house hosted by the Bureau of Land Management.
Soon after the open house, Washington County announced it was suing the federal government over the potential reconsideration of the Northern Corridor right of way.
The BLM hosted the open house on June 4 at the Dixie Convention Center as part of an ongoing public comment period for a supplemental environmental impact statement focused on reexamining the previously approved right of way for the Northern Corridor through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
This review stems from a lawsuit brought by conservation groups against the federal government that says some items were not adequately addressed in the original study. The supplemental study is a result of a settlement made in that case between the conservation groups and the Department of the Interior. Washington County and the Utah Department of Transportation were not involved in that process.
“One of the resources we were asked to look at again is the impact of wildfires,” Gloria Tibbetts, district manager of the BLM’s Color County District, told St. George News during the open house.
Read the full story at StGeorgeUtah.com.
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